I do not have an atty, I called a couple and they all need a doctor to say my condition is work related and none of them are willing to do that. If my claim gets denied, that will be the end of it.

[need a doctor to say my condition is work related]
Is that an AZ law about work comp??

Here the employee can file the wc claim, ( hopefully legit) and go thru the process.
Then the wc ins may accept of deny the claim, then we can appeal that denial and may end up going to a hearing.
Eventually your drs is interviewed /deposed and had reports filed re the injury in question..
But usually they aren't there at the work place to say if injury happened there or not.. usually they go by what the patient tells them and the clinical exam, and usually they ask you to describe the work and what happened..

You might need to read on AZ state website about work comp for state specific info.

Yes, I can appeal it on my own if the claim is denied but if I want an atty to get involved they require a dr to say it's work related.

Since it falls into the RSI umbrella it's hard to "prove" I guess. Although I know for sure all that typing caused all my problems.

We will see what happens, for now I'm really worried about my health. Finances are tough too only on my husband's wages with car payments, student loans, etc.

The main question I was asking myself last night is: when do you know you're ready to go back to work? When you have zero pain or when the pain is on a tolerable level. Am I supposed to push through the pain when it becomes tolerable? My head is spinning.

This is a tough one. The problem is that if you push through the pain when it's tolerable it has a way of not staying tolerable. My partner always said to me it's not enough to have a few good hours, you need a few good days and then a good week. If you get to that point, maybe it's time to consider going back to work in a very modified way that doesn't cause re-injury.

Yes, so far I have not had a single painless day in 3 months so I guess there is lots of work ahead of me.

Today is a slightly better day though, I managed to clean my house and do some laundry and my pain has not increased. Staying at 5 out of 10.

Deep breathing helps me. Breath in to a count of 4, hold to a count of 7 and exhale to a count of 8. I am unable to take most meds/hate side effects. The pain in my shoulder blades , neck, shoulder, elbow, and wrist are sometimes unbearable. (reminds me of when I was in hard labor with my pregnancies) So, I have reverted sometimes to "hee, hee, whooooo" from my experiences with childbirth.

The deep breathing helps, so please don't dismiss it.

Thank you. You made me laugh.

Hello Nelly. First, welcome to the post. I've been reading your conversations and conversations with others. It saddens me to hear your story about TOS. I'm not going to make this long, but I thought I would share my story.

I've been dealing with TOS for 20yrs or more. I just had my 3rd surgery that I'm about to write about it on this post. This is a syndrome that's very, very difficult to diagnose. I've been fired from jobs. Previous surgeons didn't want to see me anymore. Some thought I was crazy. I've gone to numerous doctors, chiropractors, PTs, etc., nothing helped. As stated above, had two previous surgery, and a third one last Monday.

They just remove my first rib and scalene muscle on left side. Previous surgeries were on the right. Let me say this to u. I'm a man of the LORD, and I'm going to be honest to u, as I've been to others on here. Don't take this lightly. TOS changes your whole life. Right now, my wife and I are praying about my next chapter in this life. We r doing this because I don't know going back to my job will cause this to flare again. I do accounting work, so I'm on the computer all day. My answer to u is to seek a doctor that knows about TOS. Read about it. Stay on this forum. I know some people say they have gotten better, but my many years with this and listening to others, u really do not get better. Some people say use this, do that, don't believe every thing u read and hear. I agree with every thing Kelly wrote to u.

My faith in GOD has kept me going these 20yrs. U take care and keep in touch. Thanks for sharing your story. I'm praying for u.

Feel free to read my story.

Thank you. I woke up with a swollen hand from doing a few things yesterday. My hopes are low again.

Nelly,

At every doc appointment, I would innocently/naively ask. "Doctor, what causes these symptoms that I am having?" Rather than give them your opinion of what caused it, let them come to the conclusions when they ask you to describe your job functions. Doctors love to be the ones to solve your problems and come to your rescue.
If you say it is from your job, then they will only think you are trying to get out of work. They want to be the one to tell you that you cannot work, until their doctoring has fixed you.+

Do the same for any center that you go to for treatment also.

Unfortunately so many people are malingerers that doctors have their guard up. Plus many other people are addicted to pain meds, and they have their guard up about that too.

Once one doctor indicates that it is your job that is causing it, then the attorney will be able to help you.

I have learned that doctors only are concerned with signs and symptoms, not our opinions. When they are trying to make a diagnosis, they need to rely on their medical training, not our opinion(even though our opinion is right on target)